Neopian Times Articles

As I have mentioned in the Comic Guide section found here, if you want to try submitting work for The Neopian Times, then you should start by submitting a comic. However, if you are not an artistic person, writing an article is your best choice! Articles can be fairly short and do not usually take you the same amount of time you would spend writing a story. Not that I'm saying articles cannot take a long time; it really is all up to you.

Let's Start

First of all, you need to read the rules! If you go over the limit by one word, you will get rejected. Then, you need to do some planning and research about what you want to do.
Here are the steps that you need to follow in order to write a succesful article.

Topic. Do you have a game guide in mind, or a tip/trick, or perhaps just would like talk about your favourite Neopet? Perhaps you have some advice you'd like to share with the rest of the Neopian community. Whatever you choose, write about something that interests you and that you're knowledgeable about. As an example, I've decided to talk about Terror Mountain.

Research. So now that you know what you want to write about, let's do some research! In my case, I have to go directly to Terror Mountain and find out what's in there, what usually happens and the fun things you can do. For example, I can talk about how the Snowager loves to blast everyone around. Remember, make it interesting, fun, and funny! But remember to always stay on topic. Do not write about Faerieland if your article is all about Terror Mountain.

Title Your Article. Think about the title for your article. This can be done after you finish writing, but I would suggest getting into the habit of thinking ahead. If you already have it all set up, then you should have a clear idea of what you are going to talk about. Of course, you can always change the title after you are done.
I have chosen "Terrors in the Mountain."

Make a List. The planning is very crucial when you begin to write your article. If you have it all planned and layout, the rest is fairly simple.I love to make lists of what I have done so far and what I plan to do, that way you can keep track of everything. Here's an example of my list:

Title: Terrors in the Mountain

About: Snowager Blast at the Ice Caves

Other: What else you would encounter on the way to the top of the mountain

Write Your Introduction. An introduction will draw a reader's interest and give the reader an idea of what you are going to talk about. Make sure your topics are covered in the introduction to avoid surprises and prepare the reader.
Here's a very simple example of what to do and not to do:

DO NOT: I'm going to the top of the Mountain. It's going to be so much fun! I'm here to tell you how to make it to the top. Enjoy.

As you can see, the above introduction is not clear and will plant a big question mark in the reader's mind.

BETTER VERSION: If you have ever felt like taking a dare, you might as well join in the journey to the top of the mountain. The price: just have the guts and strength to encounter the creatures and walk the dangerous icy paths. Feel the blast from the ferocious creatures, the adrenaline from a battle, and perhaps you will get lucky enough to win a prize along the way.

In this version, it is pretty clear what the article is going to be about. The blast is the Snowager, the battle is obviously the Ice Arena, and the prize is the scratchcard kiosk. Plus, it is interesting and intriguing to a reader. As you can see, you don't have to be a professional writer in order to send the message across.

Write in Order. In your polished article, it is important that your topics appear in the order you wrote the topics in your introduction. That way, the introduction orients the reader. In my case, I would start writing about Snowager's Blast because, it is the first thing I mentioned in my introduction.

Note that this does not mean that you have to actually write your topics in that order. If you want to write about your third point first, go right ahead. Just make sure that when your article is completed, the reader will read about the first point first, the second point second, etc.

Edit and Get Feedback. It is important to edit your work until you are satisfied. In order to spot mistakes, I suggest you read the article out loud over and over until you get tired. Trust me, you won't spot a lot of the mistakes on the first 5 readings. You can also send it to a friend who can give you feedback about your writing and the article itself. Maybe your friend will spot some mistakes that you don't see.

Double-check the Rules. Before you do this, remember to go over the rules and regulations about articles and make sure you are within the word limit! If you don't follow the rules, your article will not be published. Your article can be a minimum of 1,000 words and a maximum of 50,000 words. To see other tips from The Neopets Team, click here .

Submit it. Once you are done, click here to submit it. Don't worry because you will see the requirements on that page. All you need is to write your article title, paste your article, and post a comment if you wish. Click on "Submit Article" and you are done!

Now, start planning and writing and have lots of fun with it! Remember, you can submit the same article every week, but if you get rejected, I would suggest submitting it again after 2-4 weeks. Or, just write a new article.